Tour_of_Britain_sept_12

The longest Café Run or Wiggo Watching

The plan was to abandon the usual Monday Rest day and substitute a normal Café run extended to take in the Tour of Britain as it passed through Billinge.

Arriving at the Plough bus stop I was pleased to see 3 riders who also thought it was a good plan and given the downpour just before I left home there were at least 2 more riders than I anticipated would turn out. So Dave, Ray, Pete and I set off along the usual route to Fettlers where we met up with Will who had despatched his family obligations and was ready to join in with the plan. The Tour was not scheduled to arrive at Billinge before 1.30pm thus giving plenty of time to linger over coffee and catch up on the weekend’s gossip, I mean news.

Phase one completed it was time for Phase two and Dave dropped out of the group as he had a prior commitment leaving just the four of us again to continue the ride. Onward through Mawdesley, Parbold Village, Ashurst Beacon and Upholland, we arrived at Billinge about an hour before the estimated arrival of the peloton to be greeted by the second rain shower of the day. Pete’s idea to seek shelter in the local pub (The Stork) was genius and the friendly host and his wife made us welcome and provided coffee and sandwiches as we settled in to await Wiggo and the rest of the Tour.

Outside the pub, the crowds were gathering and the brollies were going up and down as a succession of showers came & went. Pete & Ray, through the wonders of modern technology were able to track the race on their smartphones and it became clear that riders would be behind schedule no doubt due to battling a strong westerly wind on the way from Nottingham. Consequently we stayed put and continued to rehydrate. Mine Host then tuned in the TV to the race commentary and we were able to determine with a degree of certainty when the riders would arrive in Billinge. Knowing the route from various Audax rides in the area we waited for them to cross the East Lancs road before locating a suitable vantage spot amongst the hundreds of spectators lining the roads with cameras at the ready.

It was not long before the “Rolling Road Block” in the form of a flock of police motorcycles arrived followed by the race leaders. There was a great cheer for local lad Pete Williams who was one of two riders who had broken away from the pack early on. Then a minute and a half later the peloton came by in the blink of eye led by the Sky train and the great Wiggo, himself. I can’t swear to it but I’m sure I detected the faintest nod of respect as he spotted Team Southport cheering him and the rest of the race through the village. So that was that, job done. All that remained was a brief chat with Ken Taberner who had also turned out to watch proceedings before heading down the hill where we were given a standing ovation by local schoolchildren who had waited patiently for the race to come past. Even though we are “Elite Athletes” it was nice to see that we were never in any way blasé when we passed the hordes of our cheering supporters. After a further 18 miles through familiar lanes, the ride was complete. Another Grand Day Out as someone once said and it isn’t often one gets to see the Winner of the Tour de France and Olympic Champion racing on our patch.

Finally some statistics on the ride which shows we gave them a run for their money………

Report by Peter Gawthorne, Pictures from Will White, 12-09-12

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